Land clearing and forestry mulching in the Ozarks and North Central Arkansas

Most of this region sits on Ozark limestone and dolomite

69 of the 96 towns here sit in the Ozark Highlands, where the EPA maps cherty soils over fractured limestone and dolomite, with caves, sinkholes, and spring-fed streams.

South and west of them, the Boston Mountains are sandstone and shale under oak forest. The hills around Heber Springs and Clinton belong to the Arkansas Valley, with more pasture and fewer trees.

1. Ozark Highlands

   Level III ecoregion 39, 69 towns

   The natural cover is mostly oak-hickory forest. Shortleaf pine grows on steep, cherty slopes, and glades of grass and eastern redcedar take the shallow, dry soils over dolomite. Around Harrison, the Springfield Plateau is nearly level to rolling, and most of it is now pasture and hayland. Around Jasper and Marshall, the hills are more rugged and wooded. In the White River Hills near Yellville, Bull Shoals, and Norfork, soils are usually thin, rocky, and steep, and cedar glades cover more ground than anywhere else in Arkansas. East toward Mountain Home, Ash Flat, and Melbourne, the Central Plateau is gentler, with pasture, hay, houses, and scattered cedar glades.

   Towns hereSpringfield Plateau: Alpena, Bergman, Everton, Harrison, Marcella, Mountain View, Onia, Pindall, Pleasant Grove, St. Joe, Timbo, Valley Springs, and Western Grove. Dissected Springfield Plateau: Big Flat, Fifty-Six, Gilbert, Harriet, Hasty, Jasper, Marble Falls, Marshall, and Omaha. White River Hills: Bull Shoals, Clarkridge, Diamond City, Guion, Henderson, Lakeview, Lead Hill, Norfork, Oakland, Peel, Pyatt, Summit, and Yellville. Central Plateau: Ash Flat, Bexar, Brockwell, Calico Rock, Camp, Cherokee Village, Cotter, Dolph, Elizabeth, Evening Shade, Flippin, Franklin, Gamaliel, Gassville, Gepp, Glencoe, Hardy, Horseshoe Bend, Mammoth Spring, Melbourne, Midway, Mount Pleasant, Mountain Home, Oxford, Pineville, Poughkeepsie, Sage, Sidney, Sturkie, Viola, Violet Hill, Wideman, Williford, and Wiseman.

2. Boston Mountains

   Level III ecoregion 38, 18 towns

   The Boston Mountains stand higher, on sandstone, shale, and siltstone, with far less limestone. Forest is still widespread: northern red oak, southern red oak, white oak, and hickories on the uplands, and shortleaf pine on the drier south- and west-facing slopes. Around Ponca, Deer, and Mount Judea, the Upper Boston Mountains run from 1,900 to 2,800 feet, under closed forest with little pine. Around Fairfield Bay, Shirley, and Leslie, the Lower Boston Mountains mix woodland, forest, and savanna, and pine is much more common. Pasture and hay sit on the level ridgetops, benches, and valley floors.

   Towns hereUpper Boston Mountains: Compton, Deer, Mount Judea, Parthenon, Ponca, and Vendor. Lower Boston Mountains: Concord, Dennard, Drasco, Edgemont, Fairfield Bay, Fox, Ida, Leslie, Prim, Shirley, Tumbling Shoals, and Witts Springs.

3. Arkansas Valley

   Level III ecoregion 37, 9 towns

   Heber Springs, Greers Ferry, Quitman, and Clinton sit in the Arkansas Valley Hills, on sandstone and shale. These hills are less rugged than the Boston Mountains, and their natural cover is oak-hickory or oak-hickory-pine forest. Pasture is extensive today, and woods hold on the rougher ground. Poultry, livestock, and logging are the main land uses.

   Towns hereBee Branch, Choctaw, Clinton, Greers Ferry, Heber Springs, Higden, Quitman, Scotland, and Wilburn

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